System and method for providing absolute coordinate and zone mapping between a touchpad and a display screen

ABSTRACT

A method and system for providing absolute coordinate mapping using zone mapping input in a vehicle includes determining a touch input received on a touchpad located in the vehicle, presenting an absolute mapped position of the touch input on a display screen located in the vehicle, presenting one or more user interface objects on the display screen, and providing a plurality of display input zones corresponding to one or more user interface objects presented on the display screen. The method and system further include determining a user input to one of the one or more user interface objects presented on the display screen based on the absolute mapped position of the touch input on at least one of the one or more user interface objects presented on the display screen, and the plurality of display input zones on the display screen.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to pendingU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/547,211 entitled “SYSTEM AND METHODFOR PROVIDING ABSOLUTE COORDINATE AND ZONE MAPPING BETWEEN A TOUCHPADAND A DISPLAY SCREEN”, which was filed on Nov. 19, 2014; the entirety ofwhich is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

Vehicles are often equipped with a display unit or units located at thevehicle dash board or other area of the vehicle that are utilized toprovide various user interfaces to vehicle occupants. Many of the userinterfaces have different formats and layouts that present users withvarious shapes, sizes, and locations of input icons through the displayunit. In many instances, these display units are operably connected to atouchpad that is remotely located within the vehicle (e.g., in thecenter panel of the vehicle) in order to provide inputs to the inputicons on the graphical user interfaces.

A key limitation of touchpads is that touchpads are relatively mapped tothe display unit. For example, when the user touches the touchpad, thetouchpad converts the input data into relative coordinate values causinga delayed access to user interface objects of the user interface beingshown on a display screen. In other words, a touch input on a touchpadis not registered at the corresponding area of the display screen as itis being inputted on the touchpad by the user. In addition,conventionally only user interface objects are selected when a userdrags a cursor to the position of the user interface object on thedisplay. Therefore, no input is received on any of the user interfaceobjects unless the user touch inputs the touchpad by dragging, swiping,and/or moving touch inputs to manipulate the location of the cursor toone of the user interface objects. This limitation can cause areas ofthe touchpad to not correspond to the user interface input objectswithout further effort from the user and can cause undue distraction,inefficiency, and frustration for the user, especially in the case of adriver of the vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

According to one aspect, a method for providing absolute coordinatemapping using zone mapping input in a vehicle is provided. The methodmay include determining a touch input received on a touchpad located inthe vehicle. The method may also include presenting an absolute mappedposition of the touch input on a display screen located in the vehicle.The method may additionally include presenting one or more userinterface objects on the display screen. Additionally, the method mayinclude providing a plurality of display input zones corresponding toone or more user interface objects presented on the display screen.Further, the method may include determining a user input to one of theone or more user interface objects presented on the display screen basedon the absolute mapped position of the touch input on at least one ofthe one or more user interface objects presented on the display screen,and the plurality of display input zones on the display screen.

According to another aspect, a system for providing absolute coordinatemapping using zone mapping input in a vehicle is provided. The systemmay include a coordinate touch recognition module that determines atouch input received on a touchpad located in the vehicle. The systemmay additionally include a coordinate display recognition module thatpresents an absolute mapped position of the touch input on a displayscreen located in the vehicle. The system also may include a userinterface management module that presents one or more user interfaceobjects on the display screen and provides a plurality of display inputzones corresponding to one or more user interface objects presented onthe display screen. The user interface management module determines auser input to one of the one or more user interface objects presented onthe display screen based on the absolute mapped position of the touchinput received on at least one of the one or more user interface objectspresented on the display screen, and the plurality of display inputzones on the display screen.

According to still another aspect, a computer readable medium isprovided including instructions that when executed by a processorexecute a method for providing absolute coordinate mapping using zonemapping input. The instructions may include determining a touch inputreceived on a touchpad located in a vehicle. The instructions may alsoinclude presenting an absolute mapped position of the touch input on adisplay screen located in the vehicle. The instructions may additionallyinclude presenting one or more user interface objects on the displayscreen. Additionally, the instructions may include providing a pluralityof display input zones corresponding to one or more user interfaceobjects presented on the display screen. Further, the instructions mayinclude determining a user input to one of the one or more userinterface objects presented on the display screen based on the absolutemapped position of the touch input on at least one of the one or moreuser interface objects presented on the display screen, and theplurality of display input zones on the display screen.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features believed to be characteristic of the disclosure areset forth in the appended claims. In the descriptions that follow, likeparts are marked throughout the specification and drawings with the samenumerals, respectively. The drawing Figures are not necessarily drawn toscale and certain Figures may be shown in exaggerated or generalizedform in the interest of clarity and conciseness. The disclosure itself,however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objects andadvances thereof, will be best understood by reference to the followingdetailed description of illustrative embodiments when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a system for providing absolute coordinatemapping using zone mapping input, according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating absolute coordinate mapping between atouchpad and a display screen, according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3A is a view illustrating absolute coordinate mapping between atouchpad and a display screen, according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3B is a view illustrating absolute coordinate mapping using zonemapping input between a touchpad and a display screen, according to anexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 4A is a view illustrating absolute coordinate mapping using zonemapping with detailed zones between a touchpad and a display screen,according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 4B is a view illustrating absolute coordinate mapping using zonemapping with detailed zones between a touchpad and a display screen,according to an exemplary embodiment; and

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary method for absolute coordinate mappingusing zone mapping from the operating environment of FIG. 1, accordingto an exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following includes definitions of selected terms employed herein.The definitions include various examples and/or forms of components thatfall within the scope of a term and that may be used for implementation.The examples are not intended to be limiting.

A “processor”, as used herein, processes signals and performs generalcomputing and arithmetic functions. Signals processed by the processormay include digital signals, data signals, computer instructions,processor instructions, messages, a bit, a bit stream, or othercomputing that may be received, transmitted and/or detected.

A “bus”, as used herein, refers to an interconnected architecture thatis operably connected to transfer data between computer componentswithin a singular or multiple systems. The bus may be a memory bus, amemory controller, a peripheral bus, an external bus, a crossbar switch,and/or a local bus, among others. The bus may also be a vehicle bus thatinterconnects components inside a vehicle using protocols such asController Area network (CAN), Media Oriented System Transport (MOST),Local Interconnect Network (LIN), among others.

A “memory”, as used herein may include volatile memory and/ornonvolatile memory. Non-volatile memory may include, for example, ROM(read only memory), PROM (programmable read only memory), EPROM(erasable PROM) and EEPROM (electrically erasable PROM). Volatile memorymay include, for example, RAM (random access memory), synchronous RAM(SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rateSDRAM (DDR SDRAM), and direct RAM bus RAM (DRRAM).

An “operable connection”, as used herein may include a connection bywhich entities are “operably connected”, is one in which signals,physical communications, and/or logical communications may be sentand/or received. An operable connection may include a physicalinterface, a data interface, and/or an electrical interface.

A “vehicle”, as used herein, refers to any moving vehicle that iscapable of carrying one or more human occupants and is powered by anyform of energy. The term “vehicle” includes, but is not limited to:cars, trucks, vans, minivans, SUVs, motorcycles, scooters, boats,personal watercraft, and aircraft. In some cases, a motor vehicleincludes one or more engines.

An “input device” as used herein may include devices for controllingdifferent vehicle features which are include various vehicle components,systems, and subsystems. The term “input device” includes, but it notlimited to: push buttons, rotary knobs, and the like. The term “inputdevice” additionally includes graphical input controls that take placewithin a user interface which may be displayed by various types ofmechanisms such as software and hardware based controls, interfaces, orplug and play devices.

An “output device” as used herein may include devices that may derivefrom vehicle components, systems, subsystems, and electronic devices.The term “output devices” includes, but is not limited to: displayunits, and other devices for outputting information and functions.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein the showings are for purposes ofillustrating one or more exemplary embodiments and not for purposes oflimiting the same, FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a system for providingabsolute coordinate mapping using zone mapping input, according to anexemplary embodiment. The system, which can also be referred to as anabsolute zone mapping system, is generally designated by referencenumeral 100. As described in more detailed below, the absolute zonemapping system 100 may be utilized to provide users (e.g., one or moreoccupants of a vehicle 102) with the ability to provide touch inputsthrough a touchpad 108 to various user interfaces shown through adisplay unit 104. The absolute zone mapping system 100 utilizes absolutecoordinate mapping that allows the user to touch a specific portion ofthe surface 136 of the touchpad 108 and provide an input to acorresponding portion of the user interface shown on a display screen110 of the display unit 104 that is represented by an input indicator.In one embodiment, the input indicator may be a visible cursor, pointer,or marker that is placed at a location of the display screen 110corresponding to the touch input location on the touchpad 108. In analternate embodiment, the input indicator may not be visible but maystill be utilized as a focal input point that is placed at a location ofthe display screen 110 corresponding to the touch input location on thetouchpad 108. In addition, the absolute zone mapping system 100 provideszone mapping in order for the user to utilize absolute coordinatemapping to input user interface objects in a rapid manner without havingto touch input a portion of the touchpad that is specially mapped to thelocation of a user interface object.

The components included within the system 100 may be interconnected viaone or more system buses. It will be understood that FIG. 1 constitutes,in some respects, an abstraction and that the actual organization of thecomponents of the system 100 may be more complex than illustrated. Inone embodiment, the system 100 is centered around the vehicle 102 thatincludes the display unit 104 that may be located within the center ofthe dashboard of the vehicle 102, as shown in FIG. 1. In alternateembodiments, the display unit 104 may be located in other areas of thevehicle 102 such as within a steering wheel or behind a driver and/orpassenger seat(s). The display unit 104 may be configured in a varietyof form factors, shapes, sizes, designs, and/or configurations. As willbe discussed in more detail below, the display unit 104 is operablyconnected to the touchpad 108. The touchpad 108 is utilized by theuser(s) to provide touch inputs to one or more user interfacescorresponding to operating systems, applications, vehicle systems,vehicle subsystems, etc. that are executed and stored on a head unit 106within the vehicle 102.

The exemplary embodiment of the display unit 104 shown in FIG. 1includes the display screen 110, a controller 112, a coordinate displayrecognition module 114, and a display communication device 116. Thedisplay screen 110 may be a flat panel display that may include a liquidcrystal display (LCD) device, an electroluminescent display (ELD)device, a field emission display (FED) device, a plasma display panel(PDP), a thin film transistor LCD (TFT-LCD) device, a flexible displayunit, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), an active-matrix organiclight-emitting diode (AMOLED), etc. The display screen 110 may beconfigured in a variety of form factors, shapes, sizes, designs, and/orconfigurations. For example, the display screen 110 may be configured ina wide or ultra-wide format. In an alternate embodiment, the displayunit 104 can include a heads up display that projects the display screen110 upon the windshield of the vehicle 102.

The controller 112 controls the display unit 104 based in part oncoordinate data that is received by the display communication device116. The controller 112 may be any hardware device capable of executinginstructions stored within a memory/storage (not shown). As such, thecontroller 112 may include a microprocessor, field programmable gatearray (FPGA), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or othersimilar devices. The controller 112 may interact with a display driver(not shown) that is utilized to provide images to the display screen 110based on commands sent by the controller 112. In one embodiment,inherent processing memory (not shown) of the controller 112 may storeoperational instructions, applications, and/or interfaces that arespecific to the display unit 104 and are executed by the controller 112.For example, the controller 112 may execute a display settings userinterface to be utilized by the user to select settings shown on thedisplay screen 110 such as color, tint, sharpness, format, etc.

The display communication device 116 may be capable of providing wiredor wireless computer communications utilizing various protocols tosend/receive non-transitory signals internally to the head unit 106and/or the touchpad 108 and externally to external devices. Generally,these protocols include a wireless system (e.g., IEEE 802.11, IEEE802.15.1 (Bluetooth)), a near field communication system (NFC) (e.g.,ISO 13157), a local area network (LAN), and/or a point-to-point system.Additionally, the display communication device 116 can be operablyconnected for internal computer communications to the head unit 106and/or touchpad 108 via a bus (e.g., a Controller Area Network (CAN) ora Local Interconnect Network (LIN) protocol bus). In an exemplaryembodiment, the display communication device 116 may receive inputsignals and send output signals to both the head unit 106 and thetouchpad 108. In one embodiment, the display communication device 116may also communicate with external devices in order for the controller112 to receive inputs to be shown on the display screen 110. Forexample, the display communication device 116 may communicate viawireless computer communication with the user's portable electronicdevice.

The display unit 104 also includes the coordinate display recognitionmodule 114. In one embodiment, the coordinate display recognition module114 is a separate hardware device that includes a separate processor,memory, storage, or other hardware. In an alternate embodiment, thecoordinate display recognition module 114 may be included as part of thecontroller 112 (i.e., stored within the memory/storage of thecontroller) to be specifically utilized when executed. In an exemplaryembodiment, the coordinate display recognition module 114 is utilized todetermine the display coordinate values (display coordinates) of userinterface objects that are presented (via the head unit 106) anddisplayed on the display screen 110. Display coordinates includelocational coordinates that are determined based on the surface area ofthe display screen 110.

In an exemplary embodiment, the coordinate display recognition module114 is utilized to determine the display coordinates of one or more userinterface objects, and/or the input indicator, as described in moredetail below. In one embodiment, the coordinate display recognitionmodule 114 identifies the display coordinates as being x and y pointsthat contain one or more pixels. The y point defines the verticalside(s) of the display screen 110, and the x point defines thehorizontal side(s) of the display screen 110. In one embodiment, thecoordinate display recognition module 114 determines the displaycoordinates from an origin point being on the left top corner of thedisplay screen 110. For example, based on an exemplary scaling systemthe “0, 0” point is in the upper left corner of the display screen 110,and the “999, 999” point is at the lower right corner of the displayscreen 110. In the example, the display coordinates represent a squareshaped display screen 110, however, the display screen 110 may beconfigured in any form factor, shape, and/or size (e.g., widescreen,ultra-widescreen). Therefore, the coordinate display recognition module114 may utilize any type of scaling system that may depend on the sizeand shape of the display screen 110.

In one embodiment, the coordinate display recognition module 114utilizes data sent from the head unit 106 (through the displaycommunication device 116) with regards to user input objects in order toevaluate specific display coordinates that will be utilized on thedisplay screen 110 to display the user interface objects. In oneembodiment, the coordinate display recognition module 114 also sendsdata to the head unit 106 (through the display communication device 116)with regards to the display coordinates of the input indicator withrespect to the user interface objects.

In an exemplary embodiment, the coordinate display recognition module114 utilizes data sent from the touchpad 108 (through the displaycommunication device 116) that include touchpad coordinates with respectto touch inputs received by the user(s) in order to provide absolutecoordinate mapping between the touchpad 108 and the display screen 110.In an exemplary embodiment, the coordinate display recognition module114 interprets one or more touchpad coordinates that are received fromthe touchpad 108. The touchpad coordinates include x, y coordinatevalues that correspond to the position of the user's touch input uponthe surface of the touchpad 108.

As will be described in more detail below, based on the receipt andevaluation of the touchpad coordinates (received from the touchpad 108)by the coordinate display recognition module 114, the controller 112controls the placement of the input indicator on the display panel 250to be placed at an area of the display screen 110 that includescorresponding display coordinates. In one embodiment, the coordinatedisplay recognition module 114 also sends data to the touchpad 108(through the display communication device 116) based on the displaycoordinates of user interface objects shown on the display screen 110.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the head unit 106 may include astorage 118, a controller 120, a user interface management module 122,and a head unit communication device 124. The storage 118 of the headunit 106 may include various memories such as, for example, L1, L2, orL3 cache or system memory. As such, the memory may include static randomaccess memory (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), flash memory, read only memory(ROM), or other similar memory devices. The storage 118 may be utilizedto store one or more operating systems, applications, associatedoperating system data, application data, vehicle system and subsystemuser interface data, and the like that are executed by the controller120.

The controller 120 may be any hardware device capable of executinginstructions stored within a memory/storage (not shown). As such, thecontroller 120 may include a microprocessor, field programmable gatearray (FPGA), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or othersimilar devices. In an exemplary embodiment, the controller 120 isutilized to execute one or more user interfaces associated with theoperating systems, applications, vehicle systems, and subsystems. In oneembodiment, the controller 120 may include an electronic control unit(not shown) of the vehicle 102 that is utilized to control any and allelectronic components located within the vehicle 102. In yet analternate embodiment, the controller 120 may control the display unit104 and/or the touchpad 108 in lieu of separate respective controllers112, 128 included therein.

The head unit communication device 124 may be capable of providing wiredor wireless computer communications utilizing various protocols tosend/receive non-transitory signals internally to the display unit 104and/or the touchpad 108 and externally to external devices. Generally,these protocols include a wireless system (e.g., IEEE 802.11, IEEE802.15.1 (Bluetooth)), a near field communication system (NFC) (e.g.,ISO 13157), a local area network (LAN), and/or a point-to-point system.Additionally, the head unit communication device 124 may be operablyconnected for internal computer communications to the display unit 104and/or touchpad 108 via a bus. In one embodiment, the head unitcommunication device 124 may also communicate with external devices inorder for the controller 120 to execute computer program instructionslocated on an external device. For example, the head unit communicationdevice 124 may communicate via wireless computer communication with theuser's portable electronic device in order to execute an infotainmentapplication that is stored on the portable electronic device through thevehicle infotainment system (not shown) to be displayed through thedisplay unit 104.

In an exemplary embodiment, upon execution of one or more applicationsthat are stored on the storage 118, the controller 120 may utilize thehead unit communication device 124 to communicate via computercommunication with the display communication device 116 in order todisplay one or more user interfaces and associated user interfaceobjects on the display screen 110 of the display unit 104. In oneembodiment, the head unit communication device 124 may also be utilizedto communicate with the touchpad 108 in order to provide data thatpertains to user interfaces that correspond to the one or more operatingsystems, applications, and/or vehicle systems and subsystems.

In an exemplary embodiment, the user interface management module 122 isutilized to provide data that pertains to user interfaces thatcorrespond to the one or more operating systems, applications, and/orvehicle systems and subsystems executed by the controller 120. In oneembodiment, the user interface management module 122 communicates withthe coordinate display recognition module 114 (via the communicationdevices 116 and 124) to determine the display coordinates of the displayscreen 110. In addition, the user interface management module 122 maysend data to the coordinate display recognition module 114 respective ofuser interface objects that are to be placed at respective displaycoordinates of the display screen 110.

As described below, in one embodiment, the user interface managementmodule 122 receives data from the coordinate display recognition module114 of the display unit 104 that indicates the display coordinates ofthe input indicator with respect to user interface objects displayed onthe display screen 110. As will be described in more detail below, theuser interface management module 122 determines absolute zone mappingbetween the touchpad 108 and the display unit 104 in order to provideinputs to one or more user interface objects based on display and touchinput zones.

In one embodiment, the user interface management module 122 may also beutilized to provide data to the touchpad 108 in order to determinetouchpad coordinates of the touchpad 108 that correspond to userinterface objects being presented on the display screen 110. In analternate embodiment, the user interface data provided by the userinterface management module 122 may be utilized by the touchpad 108 toprovide added functionality independent of any user interface object(s)displayed on the display screen 110. For example, the touchpad 108 mayutilize a specific type of swiping, tapping, and/or sliding action ofthe user's finger on the touchpad 108 to activate functions of the audiosystem of the vehicle 102.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the touchpad 108 may be in a form ofa rectangular surface that includes the surface 136 that may translatethe motion and position of one or more of the user's finger(s) 134 to anabsolute position on the display screen 110 of the display unit 104. Thesurface 136 of the touchpad 108 may be configured in a variety of formfactors, shapes, sizes, designs, and/or configurations. For example, thesurface 136 may be configured in a wide or ultra-wide format. In oneembodiment, the touchpad 108 may provide tactile feedback and/orpressure sensing. For example, the touchpad 108 may receive an input byincreasing the pressure of the user's finger 134 on the surface 136 ofthe touchpad 108, instead of providing a separate touch input in theform of lifting and tapping the user's finger 134. In an alternateembodiment, the touchpad 108 may also include a “hot spot” location ofthe touchpad surface 136 that provides specific types of functionalityapart from the remaining portion of the touchpad surface 136. Forexample, a “hot spot” location of the touchpad surface 136 may includescrolling zones (horizontal and/or vertical scroll bars that are visiblyshown on the surface 136 of the touchpad 108) that act as a scroll wheelspecifically provided to quickly scroll through user interfaces shown onthe display screen 110.

As described above, the absolute zone mapping system 100 utilizesabsolute coordinate mapping that allows the user to touch a specificportion of the surface 136 of the touchpad 108 and simultaneously accessa corresponding portion of the user interface, as represented by theinput indicator, shown through the display unit 110. Therefore, thetouchpad coordinates on the surface 136 of the touchpad 108 may beabsolute mapped to the display point coordinate values on the displayscreen 110 of the display unit 104. In other words, upon receiving atouch input on the touchpad 108 from the user(s), the absolute positionwhere the user's finger touch inputs the surface 136 at specifictouchpad coordinates is mapped by placing the input indicator atcorresponding display coordinates on the display screen 110.Specifically, the absolute position at upper left corner of the touchpadsurface coordinates may be mapped to the absolute location at upper leftcorner of the display screen coordinates. Similarly, the absoluteposition at lower left corner, lower right corner, and upper rightcorner of the touchpad surface coordinates are mapped to theirrespective corners on the display screen coordinates.

In an alternate embodiment, the touchpad 108 may include an input switchthat provides the user the capability to switch between the absolutecoordinate positioning mode and a relative coordinate positioning mode.For example, if the user would like to operate the touchpad 108 toprovide the input indicator that is relatively positioned to the displayunit 104 (in a manner similar to a computer mouse pointer), the touchpad108 may be switched from the absolute coordinate mapping mode to therelative coordinate mapping mode. When the touchpad 108 is in therelative coordinate mapping mode, the touchpad coordinates of thetouchpad 108 do not absolutely correspond to the display coordinates ofthe display screen 110. Therefore, in the relative coordinate mappingmode, the input indicator is independently positioned on the displayscreen 110 relative to the user's touch input received at specifictouchpad coordinates on the surface 136 of the touchpad 108.

As shown in FIG. 1, in an exemplary embodiment, the touchpad 108 mayinclude capacitive sensors 126, a controller 128, the coordinate touchrecognition module 130, and touchpad communication device 132. Thecapacitive sensors 126 may be capable of determining capacitance todetermine the user touch input from the user's finger(s) 134 on thesurface 136 of the touchpad 108. In an exemplary embodiment, thecapacitive sensors 126 send a signal corresponding to multiple points oftouch input received on the surface 136 of the touchpad 108. Thecapacitive sensors 126 may be able to sense multi-touch gestures as wellas various types of gesturing techniques such as tapping gestures,swiping gestures, swirling gestures, scrolling gestures, etc. In oneembodiment, the capacitive sensors 126 can be located at numeroustouchpad coordinate locations of the touchpad 108 and are able to sensetouch inputs from every touch point provided at every touchpadcoordinate location.

In an alternate embodiment, the touchpad 108 may be a resistive touchpadthat may not include the capacitive sensors 126. The resistive touchpad108 may instead include layered sheets that respond to pressure on thesurface 136 of the touchpad 108 by contacting one another at specifictouchpad coordinate locations based on the touch input of the user'sfinger(s) 134, a stylus, or other device on the surface 136 of thetouchpad 108. In yet an another embodiment, the touchpad 108 may be aconductance touchpad that includes two surfaces with sensors thatconnect to each other upon receiving the user's touch input at specifictouchpad coordinate locations.

In an exemplary embodiment, the controller 128 controls the touchpad 108based in part on touch inputs received at touchpad coordinatelocation(s) that are sensed by the capacitive sensors 126. Thecontroller 128 may be any hardware device capable of executinginstructions stored within a memory/storage (not shown). As such, thecontroller 128 may include a microprocessor, field programmable gatearray (FPGA), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or othersimilar devices. The controller 128 may interact with a touchpad driver(not shown) that may interpret the user's touch inputs on the surface136 of the touchpad 108.

In one embodiment, the controller 128 evaluates touch inputs received onthe surface 136 of the touchpad 108. Specifically, upon sensing of thetouch input(s) from the user's finger 134 touching the surface 136 ofthe touchpad 108, the capacitive sensors 126 send one or more touchinput signals to the controller 128 indicating the presence of the touchinput(s) on the touchpad 108. In an exemplary embodiment, the controller128 of the touchpad 108 can utilize instructions stored within inherentprocessing memory (not shown) of the controller 128 to provide commandsto control and operate components of the touchpad 108 such as thecoordinate touch recognition module 130.

In one embodiment, the coordinate touch recognition module 130 is aseparate hardware device that includes a separate processor, memory,storage, or other hardware. In an alternate embodiment, the coordinatetouch recognition module 130 may be included as part of the controller128 (i.e., stored within the inherent processing memory of thecontroller 128) to be specifically utilized when executed. In anexemplary embodiment, the coordinate touch recognition module 130 isutilized to determine the touchpad coordinates of touch inputs that areregistered by the controller 128. Specifically, upon the capacitivesensors 126 sensing the user's finger(s) 134 touching the surface 136 ofthe touchpad 108, the controller 128 registers the touch input andprovides the touch input as raw data to the coordinate touch recognitionmodule 130. The controller 128 utilizes the coordinate touch recognitionmodule 130 to determine the touchpad coordinates of the touch input onthe surface 136 of the touchpad 108.

In one embodiment, the coordinate touch recognition module 130identifies the touchpad coordinates as being x and y points(corresponding to a horizontal and vertical axis) that contain one ormore capacitive sensors 126. The y point defines the vertical side(s) ofthe touchpad 108, and the x point defines the horizontal side(s) of thetouchpad 108. In one embodiment, the coordinate touch recognition module130 determines the touchpad coordinates from an origin point being onthe left top corner of the surface 136 of the touchpad 108. For example,based on an exemplary scaling system, the “0, 0” point is in the upperleft corner of the touchpad 108, and the “399, 399” point is at thelower right corner of the touchpad 108. In this example, the touchpadcoordinates represent a square shaped touchpad 108, however, thetouchpad 108 may be configured in any form factor, shape, and/or size(e.g., wide, ultra-wide). Therefore, the coordinate touch recognitionmodule 130 may utilize any type of scaling system that may depend on thesize and shape of the touchpad 108.

The touchpad communication device 132 may be capable of providing wiredor wireless computer communications utilizing various protocols tosend/receive non-transitory signals internally to the head unit 106and/or the display unit 104 and externally to external devices.Generally, these protocols include a wireless system (e.g., IEEE 802.11,IEEE 802.15.1 (Bluetooth)), a near field communication system (NFC)(e.g., ISO 13157), a local area network (LAN), and/or a point-to-pointsystem.

The touchpad communication device 132 can be operably connected forinternal computer communications to the head unit 106 and/or displayunit 104 via a bus. In one embodiment, the touchpad communication device132 may receive input signals and send output signals to both the headunit 106 and the display unit 104. In one embodiment, the touchpadcommunication device 132 may also communicate with external devices inorder for the controller 128 to send inputs to various vehicle systemsand subsystems. For example, the touchpad communication device 132 maycommunicate directly with the vehicle audio system to provide inputcommands that are utilized for providing specific types of audio systemfunctionality.

In an exemplary embodiment, the coordinate touch recognition module 130provides the touchpad coordinates to be utilized by the coordinatedisplay recognition module 114 to position the input indicator at anabsolute mapped position at corresponding display coordinates of thedisplay screen 110. In an exemplary embodiment, the touchpadcommunication device 132 may communicate directly with the displaycommunication device 116 in order for the coordinate touch recognitionmodule 130 to provide the touchpad coordinate values to the coordinatedisplay recognition module 114. In an alternate embodiment, the touchpadcommunication device 132 and the display communication device 116 maycommunicate directly in order for the coordinate display recognitionmodule 114 to send display coordinates corresponding to one or more userinterface objects that are presented on the display screen 110, to thecoordinate touch recognition module 130.

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating absolute coordinate mapping between thetouchpad 202 and the display screen 206, according to an exemplaryembodiment. FIG. 2 illustrates the display screen 206 and a touchpad 202utilizing a simplified coordinate scale for the purposes of providing asimplistic example of absolute coordinate mapping. As shown, theabsolute position at the upper left and right corners of the surface 136includes touchpad coordinates that are mapped to the absolute locationat upper left and right corners of display screen 206 that includecorresponding display coordinates. Similarly, the absolute position atlower left corner and right corners of the surface 136 includes touchpadcoordinates that are mapped to the absolute location at their respectivelower left and right corners of the display screen 206 that includecorresponding display coordinates. Thus, each area of the surface 136 ofthe touchpad 202 has a corresponding absolute point on the displayscreen 206.

As stated above, the coordinate display recognition module 114 canutilize any type of scaling system that may depend on the size anddimensions of the display screen 204. Additionally, the coordinate touchrecognition module 130 may also utilize any type of scaling system thatmay depend on the size and dimensions of the touchpad 202. The displayscreen 204 may be scaled by measuring the display screen dimensionsand/or the number of horizontal (x) axis and vertical (y) axis displaycoordinates on the display screen 206 as determined by the coordinatedisplay recognition module 114. In addition, the touchpad 202 may alsobe similarly scaled by measuring the touchpad dimensions and/or thenumber of horizontal (x) axis and vertical (y) axis touchpad coordinateson the touchpad 202 as determined by the coordinate touch recognitionmodule 130.

In one embodiment, upon receiving the touch input from the user on thesurface 136 of the touchpad 202, the coordinate touch recognition module130 determines the x and y touchpad coordinates of the user's touchinput 204. In the illustrative example shown in FIG. 2, the capacitivesensors 126 sense the user's touch input 204 and provide touch sensingsignal(s) to the coordinate touch recognition module 130. In oneembodiment, the coordinate touch recognition module 130 determines the xand y touchpad coordinates based on the location where the touch inputis sensed on the surface 136 of the touchpad 202. As shown in theillustrative example, the coordinate touch recognition module 130determines the touchpad input occurring at the x, y touchpad coordinates(8, 12) of the surface 136 of the touchpad 202.

In an exemplary embodiment, upon determining the touchpad coordinates,the coordinate touch recognition module 130 utilizes the touchpadcommunication device 132 to send the touchpad coordinate values to thedisplay communication device 116 to be evaluated by the coordinatedisplay recognition module 114. The coordinate display recognitionmodule 114 evaluates the touchpad coordinates received from thecoordinate touch recognition module 130 in order to present the inputindicator 208 at absolute mapped position at display coordinatescorresponding to the touchpad coordinates of the user's touch input 204.

In one embodiment, upon receiving the touchpad coordinate values via thedisplay communicate device 116, the coordinate display recognitionmodule 114 utilizes an (x:y) coordinate display ratio between thetouchpad 202 and the display screen 206 to determine corresponding (x,y) display coordinate values. Specifically, upon receiving the touchpadcoordinates from the coordinate touch recognition module 130, thecoordinate display recognition module 114 evaluates the touchpadcoordinates and calculates proportionate display coordinate values basedon the ratio between the display screen (x:y) scale and the touchpad(x:y) scale. In one embodiment, the (x:y) display ratio can include theratio between the length of the horizontal axis of the touchpad 202 andthe length of the horizontal axis of the display screen 206, and a ratiobetween the length of the vertical axis of the touchpad 202 and thelength of the vertical axis of the display screen 206.

As shown in the illustrative example of FIG. 2, there is a 1:2 displayratio between the touchpad 202 and the display screen 206 that includes1:2 ratio on the x axis and a 1:2 ratio on they axis. The coordinatedisplay recognition module 114 determines that the absolute displaycoordinate position on the display screen 206 at display coordinatevalues (16, 24) based on the touch input 204 received on the touchpad202 at touchpad coordinate values (8, 12). Therefore, the coordinatedisplay recognition module 114 places the input indicator 208 at thelocation of the display screen 110 corresponding to the displaycoordinate values (16, 24) in order to absolutely map the touch inputreceived on the touchpad 204 to the input indicator 208 presented on thedisplay screen 206. As described below, the input indicator 208 mayinput a user interface object that is located at the display coordinates(16, 24) shown on the display screen 206.

In an alternate embodiment, the coordinate touch recognition module 130may utilize the touchpad communication device 132 to send the touchpadcoordinate values to the head unit communication device 124 to beevaluated by the user interface management module 122. Upon receivingthe touchpad coordinate values, the user interface management module 122may register the touchpad coordinate values and may send data respectiveof user interface objects (that are to be placed at respective displaycoordinates of the display screen 110) along with the displaycoordinates values corresponding to the touchpad coordinate values tothe coordinate display recognition module 114. In other words, the userinterface management module 122 evaluates the touchpad coordinate valuesreceived from the coordinate touch recognition module 130 and translatesthem into display coordinate values that are sent to the coordinatedisplay recognition module 114 to be utilized to provide the inputindicator 208 and one or more user interface objects.

As described above, FIG. 2 shows the coordinate display recognitionmodule 114 providing the input indicator 208 at the absolute mappeddisplay coordinate values (16, 24) of the display screen 206 thatcorresponds to the absolute location of the touch input 204 received attouchpad coordinate values (8, 12) on the touchpad 202. Although in theexample of FIG. 2, the touchpad coordinate values and the display pointcoordinate values are mapped as whole numbers, the coordinates may bespecified to more defined/precise coordinate values that may providecoordinate values in two or more digit decimal place values. Forexample, the touch input may have been inputted between x coordinatevalues 8 and 9, and y coordinate values 7 and 8 providing an touchpadcoordinate values of (8.57, 7.56).

FIG. 3A is a view illustrating absolute coordinate mapping between thetouchpad 108 and the display screen 110, according to an exemplaryembodiment. FIG. 3A illustrates the display screen 304 and the touchpad302 utilizing a simplified coordinate scale for the purposes ofproviding a simplistic example of absolute coordinate mapping betweenthe touchpad 302 and the display screen 304. In the illustrative exampleshown, touchpad 302 is operating in an absolute coordinate mapping mode,as described above. As shown, the display screen 304 displays the userinterface 306 that is presented from the head unit 106 of the vehicle102. Specifically, in the illustrative example shown, the user interface306 is presented as a vehicle system/function interface menu that may beutilized by the user(s) within the vehicle 102 to navigate to one ormore vehicle systems and/or functions.

Also as shown, the user interface 306 presented on the display screen304 includes user interface objects 308-318 that may be utilized toexecute vehicle systems and/or vehicle functions. Specifically, the userinterface management module 122 sends user interface data to thecoordinate display recognition module 114 (via the communication devices116, 124). In an exemplary embodiment, the user interface data includesdisplay data corresponding to user interface objects to be presented onthe display screen 110. The coordinate display recognition module 114evaluates the user interface data and determines the display coordinatesassociated with the user interface objects. For example, as shown, thecoordinate display recognition module 114 determines the displaycoordinates corresponding to the location of the user interface 306 andthe user interface objects 308-318 on the display screen 304. In analternate embodiment, the user interface data sent by the user interfacemanagement module 122 also includes display coordinates associated withthe user interface objects. For example, the user interface data sentfrom the user interface management module 122 includes the displaycoordinates of the user interface 306 including the user interfaceobjects 308-318.

With continued reference to FIG. 3A, when absolute coordinate mapping isutilized between the touchpad 302 and the display screen 304, touchpadcoordinates that correspond to the display coordinate areas on thedisplay screen 304 where the user interface icons 308-318 are presentedare utilized as active touchpad coordinate areas 320-330. In otherwords, the touchpad 302 can be utilized to directly input the userinterface objects 308-318 when the user touches the portion of thesurface 136 of the touchpad 302 at the active touchpad coordinate areas320-330. For example, if the user's finger 134 touches the surface 136of the touchpad 302 at the active touchpad coordinate area 326, thetouch input will be registered at the corresponding display coordinateareas of the display screen 304 presenting user interface object 314 inorder to execute the navigation system of the vehicle 102.

In an exemplary embodiment, once the coordinate display recognitionmodule 114 determines that the input indicator is presented within oneof the user interface objects 308-318 (based on the user's touch inputon one of the active touchpad coordinate areas 320-330), the coordinatedisplay recognition module 114 sends the absolute mapped displaycoordinates of the input indicator as a user input to the user interfacemanagement module 122. The user interface management module 122registers the user input and the controller 120 executes a command basedon the user input. In an alternate embodiment, once the coordinate touchrecognition module 130 determines that the touch input occurs on one ofthe active touchpad coordinate areas 320-330, the coordinate touchrecognition module 130 sends the absolute mapped touchpad coordinatevalues as a user input to the user interface management module 122.

FIG. 3B is a view illustrating absolute coordinate mapping using zonemapping input between the touchpad 108 and the display screen 110,according to an exemplary embodiment. FIG. 3B illustrates the displayscreen 304 and the touchpad 302 utilizing a simplified coordinate scalefor the purposes of providing a simplistic example of absolutecoordinate mapping with zone mapping input between the touchpad 302 andthe display screen 304. In an exemplary embodiment, the user may be ableto switch the system 100 (e.g., via a user interface input switch)between the absolute coordinate mapping mode (described above withreference to FIGS. 2 and 3A) and an absolute zone mapping mode(described in reference to FIG. 3B). In one embodiment, the absolutezone mapping mode allows the user to quickly and efficiently provide oneor more touch inputs to user interface objects by touching any portionof the touchpad 302. In other words, absolute zone mapping allows theuser to provide inputs to one or more selectable user input objectsdisplayed on the display screen 304, even if the touch input does notoccur at active touchpad coordinates 320-330 of the touchpad 302. Forexample, the user may be able to provide inputs to user interfaceobjects 308-318 displayed on the display screen 304 without having tospecifically touch the touchpad 302 at active touchpad coordinate areas320-330 (as was described above with reference absolute coordinatemapping in FIG. 3A).

As illustrated in the example shown in FIG. 3B, the user may provide atouch input 332 on the surface 136 of the touchpad 302 that is outsideof the active touchpad coordinate areas 320-330. In the absolutecoordinate mapping mode, the touch input 332 is presented as the inputindicator 334 that is presented at an absolute coordinate position ofthe touch input 332 on the display screen 304. Also in the absolutecoordinate mapping mode, since the touch input 332 was not received onany one of the active touchpad coordinate areas 320-330 corresponding tothe user interface objects 308-318, an input is not received on any oneof the user interface objects 308-318. In other words, the inputindicator 334 corresponding to the touch input 332 is presented at aportion of the display screen 110 that does not contain any userinterface objects, such as the user interface icons 308-318. Therefore,the touch input 330 will have no effect on the user interface 306displayed on the display screen 304.

However, in an exemplary embodiment, when the system 100 is in theabsolute zone mapping mode, the touch input received in areas of thesurface 136 of the touchpad 108 that are not determined to be activetouchpad coordinates of the touchpad 108 (that are not mapped viaabsolute coordinate mapping to user interface input objects 308-318) mayalso be utilized to provide inputs to the user interface objectsdisplayed on the display screen 304 (in addition to the active touchpadcoordinate areas 320-330). For example, as depicted in FIG. 3B, absolutezone mapping allows the user to efficiently provide the touch input 332to the user interface object 314 without the user having to specificallytouch input the active touchpad coordinate area 326 corresponding to theuser interface object 314. Therefore, the touch input 332 at touch inputzone 354 that corresponds to the placement of input indicator 334 withindisplay input zone 342 is utilized to provide a user input to the userinterface object 314. As shown, display input zones 336-346 may beprovided that are associated to each of the user interface objects308-318 and that correspond to touch input zones 348-358 via absolutecoordinate mapping. The touch input zones 348-358 may be utilized toprovide inputs to the user interface objects 308-318 without the userhaving to specifically input the active touch input coordinates 320-330.

In an exemplary embodiment, the size and placement of the display inputzones 336-346 are determined by the user interface management module 122upon receiving data from the coordinate display recognition module 114that indicate the display coordinates of the input indicator 334 withrespect to the user interface objects 308-318 displayed on the displayscreen 304. In an alternate embodiment, the size and placement of touchinput zones 348-358 are determined by the user interface managementmodule 122 upon receiving data from the coordinate touch recognitionmodule 130 that indicates the active touchpad coordinates 320-330 of thetouchpad 302 with respect to the user interface objects 308-318displayed on the display screen 304.

In one embodiment, the user interface management module 122 determinesthe size and placement of the display input zones 336-346 by calculatingdisplay coordinates that are located within a determined measureddistance from the display coordinates that include the edges of the userinterface objects 308-318 displayed on the display screen 304. Forexample, the user interface management module 122 may determine the sizeand placement of the display input zones 336-346 by measuring theshortest distance from the display coordinates that include the edges ofany of the user interface objects 308-318 to the remaining displaycoordinates of the display screen 304.

In an alternate embodiment, the user interface management module 122determines the size and placement of the display input zones 336-346 bycalculating display coordinates that are located within a determinedmeasured distance from the display coordinates that include the centerpoint of the user interface objects 308-318 displayed on the displayscreen 304. For example, the user interface management module 122 maydetermine the size and placement of the display input zones 336-346 bymeasuring the shortest distance from the display coordinates thatinclude the center point of any of the user interface objects 308-318 tothe remaining display coordinates of the display screen 304.

Upon determining the display input zones 336-346, the user interfacemanagement module 122 evaluates the display coordinates of the inputindicator 334 (provided by the coordinate display recognition module114) to determine which of the user interface objects 308-318 are to beselected/inputted based off of the touch input received at one of thecorresponding touch input zones 348-358. For example, as shown, theinput indicator 334 corresponding to the touch input 332 is determinedto be presented within display input zone 342, and is utilized toprovide the user input to user interface object 314.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are views illustrating absolute coordinate mapping usingzone mapping with detailed zones between the touchpad 108 and thedisplay screen 110, according to an exemplary embodiment. The userinterface management module 122 may provide various types of userinterfaces with user interface objects of different sizes and shapesthat are placed at different areas (display coordinates) of the displayscreen 404. As shown, the user interface management module 122 maydetermine various detailed display and touch input zone formats that maybe utilized to provide inputs from various touch input zones on thetouchpad 402 that correspond with the user interface objects displayedon the display screen 404. This functionality is utilized to provide thetouchpad 402 that is mapped via absolute coordinate mapping in acustomizable manner to various types of user interfaces displayed on thedisplay screen 404.

The user interface management module 122 may determine display and touchinput zones based on the placement of the user interface objects on thedisplay screen 404 at specific display coordinates. In an exemplaryembodiment, the user interface management module 122 may determinecustomized display and touch input zones that are determined to have thehighest utilization likelihood (most likely to be utilized) by the userbased on the size, shape, and placement of one or more user interfaceobjects displayed on the display screen 404. In some embodiments, theuser interface management module 122 may provide detailed display andtouch input zones based on the measurement of the display coordinatesfrom the display coordinates including the edges or center of the userinterface objects, as described above.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary method 500 for absolute coordinatemapping using zone mapping from the operating environment of FIG. 1,according to an exemplary embodiment. At step 502, the user interface ispresented on display screen 110 of the display unit 104. In an exemplaryembodiment, the user interface management module 122 communicates withthe coordinate display recognition module 114 (via the communicationdevices 116, 124) to provide the user interface and corresponding userinterface objects to the coordinate display recognition module 114 to bedisplayed at specific display coordinates of the display screen 110. Atstep 504, it is determined if a touch input is received on the touchpad108. Specifically, it is determined if the user has touched the surface136 of the touchpad 108 with a finger 134 or other object in order toprovide a touch input on the touchpad 108 that is sensed by thecapacitive sensors 126.

At step 506, if it is determined that the touch input was received onthe touchpad 108 (at step 504), the coordinate touch recognition module130 defines the touchpad coordinates corresponding to the touch inputreceived on the touchpad 108. In an exemplary embodiment, the coordinatetouch recognition module 130 determines the horizontal and vertical axis(x, y) coordinates of the area of the surface 136 that was touched bythe user to provide the touch input. At step 508, the touchpad 108communicates the touchpad coordinates to the display unit 104. Asdiscussed above, in an exemplary embodiment, the coordinate touchrecognition module 130 utilizes the touchpad communication device 132 tocommunicate directly with the display communication device 116 toprovide the touchpad coordinates (defined at step 506) to the coordinatedisplay recognition module 114.

At step 510, the display unit 104 determines the absolute mappedposition of the touch input on the display screen 110. In an exemplaryembodiment, upon receiving the touchpad coordinates from the coordinatetouch recognition module 130, the coordinate display recognition module114 utilizes the (x:y) coordinate display ratio between the touchpad 202and the display screen 206 to determine corresponding (x, y) displaycoordinate values. At step 512, the coordinate display recognitionmodule 114 presents the input indicator at the absolute mapped positionon the display screen 110 corresponding to the touch input received onthe touchpad 108.

At step 516, it is determined if the input indicator is presented at aselectable user interface object. In one embodiment, it is determined ifthe input indicator is presented at display coordinates that include anyselectable user interface objects that are provided by the userinterface management module 122. In an exemplary embodiment, uponreceiving a touch input on the touchpad 108, and presenting the inputindicator at the absolute mapped position of the touch input, thecoordinate display recognition module 114 communicates the displaycoordinates of the input indicator to the user interface managementmodule 122. The user interface management module 122 determines if theinput indicator is positioned at display coordinates wherein userinterface objects are also presented on the display screen 110.

At step 518, if it is determined that the input indicator is presentedat a selectable user interface object, the input indicator is utilizedto select the corresponding user interface object. For example, if theinput indicator is presented at a user interface object, the userinterface object may be selected/inputted based on the interpretation ofthe touch input by the user interface management module 122. In oneembodiment, the user interface management module 122 determines if theposition of the input indicator presented as a user interface object isutilized to select, highlight, and/or input the user interface objectbased on the type of application and/or user interface corresponding toone or more vehicle systems or subsystems executed by the controller120.

At step 520, if it is not determined that the input indicator ispresented at a user interface object (at step 516), it is determined ifthe system 100 is in the absolute zone mapping mode. In one embodiment,the touchpad communication device 132 sends a signal to the userinterface management module 122 when the user switches the touchpad 108from the absolute coordinate mapping mode to the absolute zone mappingmode. At step 522, if the system 100 is determined to be in the absolutezone mapping mode, the user interface management module 122 createsdisplay input zones corresponding to the position of user interfaceobjects presented on the display screen 110.

In an exemplary embodiment, the user interface management module 122determines display input zones by calculating display coordinates thatare located within a certain measured distance from the displaycoordinates that include the edges of the user interface objectsdisplayed on the display screen 404. In an alternate embodiment, theuser interface management module 122 determines display input zones bycalculating display coordinates that are located within a certainmeasured distance from the display coordinates including the centerpoint of the user interface objects displayed on the display screen 404.In another embodiment, the user interface management module 122 maydetermine customized display input zones that are determined to have thehighest utilization likelihood by the user based on the size, shape, andplacement of one or more user interface objects displayed on the displayscreen 404. At step 524, the user interface management module 122selects the corresponding user interface object that is associated tothe display input zone in which the input indicator is presented(corresponding to the to the touch input).

As discussed, various embodiments of absolute zone mapping system 100may be utilized. Also, numerous components and technologies that havenot been discussed herein may be utilized to compute operationsassociated with the absolute zone mapping system 100. It is to beappreciated that the touchpad 108 of the absolute zone mapping system100, may be part of the display unit 104. For example, the touchpad 108may be overlaid upon the display screen 110 so that the surface 136 ofthe touchpad 108 devises a clear layer overlaying the display screen110.

It should be apparent from the foregoing description that variousexemplary embodiments of the invention may be implemented in hardware.Furthermore, various exemplary embodiments may be implemented asinstructions stored on a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium,such as a volatile or non-volatile memory, which may be read andexecuted by at least one processor to perform the operations describedin detail herein. A machine-readable storage medium may include anymechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine, suchas a personal or laptop computer, a server, or other computing device.Thus, a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium excludestransitory signals but may include both volatile and non-volatilememories, including but not limited to read-only memory (ROM),random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storagemedia, flash-memory devices, and similar storage media.

It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any blockdiagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative circuitryembodying the principles of the invention. Similarly, it will beappreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, state transitiondiagrams, pseudo code, and the like represent various processes whichmay be substantially represented in machine readable media and soexecuted by a computer or processor, whether or not such computer orprocessor is explicitly shown.

It will be appreciated that various of the above-disclosed and otherfeatures and functions, or alternatives or varieties thereof, may bedesirably combined into many other different systems or applications.Also that various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives,modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequentlymade by those skilled in the art which are also intended to beencompassed by the following claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for providing absolute coordinateand zone mapping between a touchpad and a display screen, comprising:receiving user interface data, wherein the user interface data includesdisplay data that corresponds to a user interface object to be presentedon the display screen; determining a first set of display coordinatesthat correspond to the user interface object based on the user interfacedata; presenting the user interface object on the display screen at alocation based on the first set of display coordinates; determining aset of active touchpad coordinates on the touchpad based on the firstset of display coordinates, wherein the touchpad and the display screenare separate and apart from one another; and providing a touch inputzone on the touchpad corresponding to the user interface objectpresented on the display screen, wherein the touch input zone includes afirst area of a surface of the touchpad that corresponds to the set ofactive touchpad coordinates and a second area of the surface of thetouchpad that is outside of the first area, wherein a size of the secondarea of the surface of the touchpad is determined based on a user inputdetermined from a touch input on the touch input zone on the touchpad inresponse to presenting the user interface object on the display screenregardless of the determined size of the second area, and wherein eachtouch input zone of different touch input zones on the touchpadcorrespond to exactly one user interface object presented on the displayscreen, and wherein all of the touch input zones occupy an entire areaof the touchpad.
 2. The method of claim 1, further including determiningthe touch input received at a portion of the surface of the touchpad anddefining touchpad coordinates associated with the portion of the surfaceof the touchpad wherein the touch input is received.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, further including presenting an absolute mapped position of thetouch input, wherein presenting the absolute mapped position includesdetermining display coordinates on the display screen that correspond tothe touchpad coordinates associated with the portion of the surface ofthe touchpad wherein the touch input is received.
 4. The method of claim3, wherein presenting the absolute mapped position of the touch inputincludes presenting an input indicator at a location of the displayscreen that includes the display coordinates on the display screen thatcorresponds to the touchpad coordinates associated with the portion ofthe surface of the touchpad wherein the touch input is received.
 5. Themethod of claim 4, wherein determining the user input to the userinterface object includes determining that the input indicator ispresented on the first set of display coordinates, and displaycoordinates on the display screen that include a display input zonecorresponding to the touch input zone.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereinproviding the touch input zone on the touchpad corresponding to the userinterface object presented on the display screen includes determining alocation of the second area of the surface of the touchpad based on afirst measured distance that is determined to be the shortest from asecond set of display coordinates that correspond to an edge of the userinterface object to a plurality of display coordinates at an edge of thedisplay screen.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the touchinput zone on the touchpad corresponding to the user interface objectpresented on the display screen includes determining a location of thesecond area of the surface of the touchpad based on a second measureddistance that is determined to be the shortest from a third set ofdisplay coordinates that correspond to a center point of the userinterface object to a plurality of display coordinates at an edge of thedisplay screen.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the touchinput zone on the touchpad corresponding to the user interface objectpresented on the display screen includes determining touchpadcoordinates that correspond to display coordinates that are determinedto have a highest utilization likelihood, wherein the highestutilization likelihood is based on a shape and placement of the userinterface object presented on the display screen.
 9. A system forproviding absolute coordinate and zone mapping between a touchpad and adisplay screen, comprising: a memory storing instructions that whenexecuted by a processor cause the processor to: receive user interfacedata, wherein the user interface data includes display data thatcorresponds to a user interface object to be presented on the displayscreen; determine a first set of display coordinates that correspond tothe user interface object based on the user interface data; present theuser interface object on the display screen at a location based on thefirst set of display coordinates; determine a set of active touchpadcoordinates on the touchpad based on the first set of displaycoordinates, wherein the touchpad and the display screen are separateand apart from one another; and provide a touch input zone on thetouchpad corresponding to the user interface object presented on thedisplay screen, wherein the touch input zone includes a first area of asurface of the touchpad that corresponds to the set of active touchpadcoordinates and a second area of the surface of the touchpad that isoutside of the first area, wherein a size of the second area of thesurface of the touchpad is determined based on a user input determinedfrom a touch input on the touch input zone on the touchpad in responseto presenting the user interface object on the display screen regardlessof the determined size of the second area, and wherein each touch inputzone of different touch input zones on the touchpad correspond toexactly one user interface object presented on the display screen, andwherein all of the touch input zones occupy an entire area of thetouchpad.
 10. The system of claim 9, further including determining thetouch input received at a portion of the surface of the touchpad anddefining touchpad coordinates associated with the portion of the surfaceof the touchpad wherein the touch input is received.
 11. The system ofclaim 10, further including presenting an absolute mapped position ofthe touch input, wherein presenting the absolute mapped positionincludes determining display coordinates on the display screen thatcorrespond to the touchpad coordinates associated with the portion ofthe surface of the touchpad wherein the touch input is received.
 12. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein an input indicator is presented at alocation of the display screen that includes the display coordinates onthe display screen that correspond to the touchpad coordinatesassociated with the portion of the surface of the touchpad wherein thetouch input is received.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the inputindicator is presented on the first set of display coordinates, anddisplay coordinates on the display screen that include a display inputzone corresponding to the touch input zone.
 14. The system of claim 9,wherein the processor determines a location of the second area of thesurface of the touchpad based on a first measured distance that isdetermined to be the shortest from a second set of display coordinatesthat correspond to an edge of the user interface object to a pluralityof display coordinates at an edge of the display screen.
 15. The systemof claim 9, wherein the processor determines a location of the secondarea of the surface of the touchpad based on a second measured distancethat is determined to be the shortest from a third set of displaycoordinates that correspond to a center point of the user interfaceobject to a plurality of display coordinates at an edge of the displayscreen.
 16. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor determinestouchpad coordinates that correspond to display coordinates that have ahighest utilization likelihood to provide the touch input zone on thetouchpad, wherein the highest utilization likelihood is based on a shapeand placement of the user interface object presented on the displayscreen.
 17. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storinginstructions that when executed by a processor of a computer, causes theprocessor of the computer to implement a method, comprising: receivinguser interface data, wherein the user interface data includes displaydata that corresponds to a user interface object to be presented on adisplay screen; determining a first set of display coordinates thatcorrespond to the user interface object based on the user interfacedata; presenting the user interface object on the display screen at alocation based on the first set of display coordinates; determining aset of active touchpad coordinates on a touchpad based on the first setof display coordinates, wherein the touchpad and the display screen areseparate and apart from one another; and providing a touch input zone onthe touchpad corresponding to the user interface object presented on thedisplay screen, wherein the touch input zone includes a first area of asurface of the touchpad that corresponds to the set of active touchpadcoordinates and a second area of the surface of the touchpad that isoutside of the first area, wherein a size of the second area of thesurface of the touchpad is determined based on a user input determinedfrom a touch input on the touch input zone on the touchpad in responseto presenting the user interface object on the display screen regardlessof the determined size of the second area, and wherein each touch inputzone of different touch input zones on the touchpad correspond toexactly one user interface object presented on the display screen, andwherein all of the touch input zones occupy an entire area of thetouchpad.
 18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium ofclaim 17, wherein providing the touch input zone corresponding to theuser interface object presented on the display screen includesdetermining a location of the second area of the surface of the touchpadbased on a first measured distance that is determined to be the shortestfrom a second set of display coordinates that correspond to an edge ofthe user interface object to a plurality of display coordinates at anedge of the display screen.
 19. The non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of claim 17, wherein providing the touch input zonecorresponding to the user interface object presented on the displayscreen includes determining touchpad coordinates that correspond todisplay coordinates that are determined to have a highest utilizationlikelihood, wherein the highest utilization likelihood is based on ashape and placement of the user interface object presented on thedisplay screen.
 20. The non-transitory computer readable storage mediumof claim 17, wherein providing the touch input zone corresponding to theuser interface object presented on the display screen includesdetermining a location of the second area of the surface of the touchpadbased on a second measured distance that is determined to be theshortest from a third set of display coordinates that correspond to acenter point of the user interface object to a plurality of displaycoordinates at an edge of the display screen.